Meeting the Damsel
by Topher3.0
Summary: Topher Brink meets a Soon-To-Be-Active, and has a conversation with her.


**_This is an idea I JUST came up with. I wrote it right away, and really liked it. Please, enjoy! :)_**

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Topher stood behind the Imprinting Chair, tapping his fingers impatiently. Shaggy, dirty blond hair hung in front of his eyes, blocking certain areas of the lab from his view.

He wore a yellow, long sleeved shirt, with a tan sweater vest over it, and lightly colored dress pants. In his own, personal opinion, Topher believed his Bluetooh Headset pulled the whole outfit together.

Bored from standing around, waiting, Topher decided to go over the Wipe Settings. This was what usually solved his boredom: Going over Active Architecture, and what not. A few minutes passed by, and Topher had been sucked into the Tech-y World once again.

"Mr. Brink?" A breathy, light voice questioned.

"Gah!" Topher jumped, his head jolting upward, looking for the words' source. It wasn't hard to find the person. It was a young woman; With pasty skin, and thick, auburn hair that flowed around her skull. The girl's figure was slim, and she was freshly cleaned, Active clothing.

"I apologize," She assured the Programmer. "Didn't mean to give you a fright…"

The woman's arms were wrapped around herself, nervously clinging to each side of her body. Her dark hair bounced, as she took a step into Topher's Lab. She allowed her eyes to explore, studying the room.

Topher's bottom jaw lost control, and fell a few inches, as he took the sight of this woman into his mind. He hastily tried to recover, before she noticed. "No worries!" He laughed, joining her in her nervousness.

The girl took a few more steps, making her way further into the Lab. Suddenly, she paused, and shook her head, feeling ashamed. "How rude of me," She forced a quirky giggle. "My name is 'Manda. 'Manda Jenkins."

Manda raised her right hand, as she walked closer to Topher. He also elevated his right hand, about to greet her, but stopped. Topher quickly wiped his hands off, on his pants, afraid he was sweating from her presence.

Manda quietly laughed, finally shaking Topher's own hand. She looked him in the eye, smiling. She wasn't used to men acting this way around her.

"Topher Brink." He stated, feeling embarrassed at the moment.

Manda tilted her head, taking her arm back to her side. "So," She smiled, "You're a fan of cutting your name short, too?"

Topher raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Manda was saying at first. The obvious hit him, and he grinned at her. "Manda… Amanda?" Topher asked.

"Correct." Manda smiled playfully. "Topher… Christopher?"

Topher nodded, smiling back at Manda. "Correct!" He echoed.

The two lost eye contact, but continued to thrive off of each others' uncomfortable reactions.

Manda decided it was time to change the topic, and lifted a finger, pointing at the Imprinting Chair. "So, that's it then, right?" She asked, not trying to hide her uneasy feelings toward the piece of Tech.

Topher took a moment to stop staring at Manda's model-like features. He was captivated by her narrow nose, for some odd reason.

"Oh, uh," Topher let the noises exit his mouth, as he went over what Manda had just said, "Yes! It is!"

"And it--" Manda stopped herself, thinking, "It takes me out of my brain?" She didn't seem to like the idea all too much.

"That's one way of saying; Yes," Topher agreed.

"And where will I be placed?" Manda threw out another question. "If you don't mind me asking…"

"Your complete persona will be placed within a Wedge," He explained. "Sort of like a computer file." Topher tried to compare the situation.

"And--" She wandered through her thoughts, "I'll be… Safe?"

"Of course!" Topher comforted Manda. "I take the best of care towards Original Imprints." His eyes flickered over to his desk, where a torn apart Wedge was sitting. Topher could only hope Manda hadn't spotted it. "… Trust me."

Manda grinned at Topher. "I do," She stated. "I do trust you…"

Topher took another few moments to smile at Manda, before clapping his hands together. "Okay," He suddenly said, "I'm gon'na need you to sit back in The Chair, and relax." He began hitting the controls of Auto-Wipe.

"Just--" Manda wasn't too sure how to approach the Chair.

"Just sit." Topher assured, still smiling at her.

Manda gulped, but then nodded. She took a handful of steps toward the Chair, and turned her back to it. She allowed herself to be seated, letting a huge breath out, that she had been holding in.

"Good!" Topher exclaimed. He hit the final trigger, and made his way around the Chair, so that Manda could see him.

She gasped, when the Chair began to tilt backwards. Manda's eyes shot around uncontrollably, frightened.

"Don't worry," Topher stated, "It won't hurt… I promise."

"Five years?!" Manda called out, checking one last time.

"Yeah." He nodded, ".. Just five years."

The Chair came to a halt, and Manda was fully reclined. Tears filled her eyes, and she looked over at Topher one last time. Her hand, that was closest to him, shot out, wanting him to grab onto it for support. "Please," Manda begged him to take her hand.

Topher quickly nodded, and moved forward to take her hand. Just as their hands were about to meet, the blue lights surrounded Manda's skull, and her head switched. She would never get the comfort Topher had promised her.

After a minute of Manda's body jolting around, it became still; Peaceful looking. Topher sighed, shutting his eyes. Seeing her in that pain wasn't a thrilling experience.

Topher made his way over to his desk, where he pulled out an Active File. The name on its side read, 'Whiskey'. Amanda Jenkins would now be known as this. Somewhere, deep down, Topher felt its wrongness. Amanda was gone, washed away from this shell.

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**_So, this was Topher meeting Whiskey/Claire's original self. ^.^ How'd you like the reveal of that in the final bit? Did you know that would he the case? Let me know in a review!_**


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